Effects of acupuncture stimulation on brain activation induced by cue-elicited alcohol craving

We attempted to investigate whether acupuncture stimulation at HT7 can have an effect on brain activation patterns and alcohol abstinence self-efficacy. Thirty-four right-handed healthy subjects were recruited for this study. They were randomly assigned into two groups: the HT7 (Shenmen) group and the LI5 (Yangxi) group. Acupuncture stimulation was performed using a block paradigm during fMRI scanning. Additionally, the Korean version of Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale (AASES) was used to determine the effect of acupuncture stimulation on self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use. According to the result of fMRI group analysis, the activation induced by HT7 stimulation was found on the bilateral postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, claustrum, insula, and anterior lobe of the cerebellum, as well as on the left posterior lobe of the cerebellum (p<0.001, uncorrected). According to the AASES analysis, the interaction effect for gender and treatment was marginally significant (F(1,30)=4.152, p=0.050). For female group, the simple main effect of treatment was significant (F(1,11)=8.040, p=0.016), indicating that the mean change score was higher in the HT7 stimulation than in the LI5 stimulation. Therefore, our study has provided evidence to support that HT7 stimulation has a positive therapeutic effect on the alcohol-related diseases.

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FC18-04 - Cue-induced brain activation mediates subsequent relapse in abstinent alcohol-dependent patients

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73617-3 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 1913-1913

Author(s):

A. Beck ◽

T. Wüstenberg ◽

J. Wrase-Post ◽

F. Schlagenhauf ◽

S. Vollstädt-Klein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Cue Reactivity ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Warning Signal ◽

Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Alcohol Craving ◽

Relapse Risk ◽

Conditioned Responses ◽

Subsequent Relapse ◽

Alcohol Dependent

IntroductionIn alcoholism, one relevant mechanism contributing to relapse is the exposure to stimuli that are associated with alcohol intake. Such conditioned cues can elicit conditioned responses like alcohol craving and consumption. In the last decade, considerable progress has been made in identifying basic neuronal mechanisms that underlie cue-induced alcohol craving.Objectives/ aimsWe explored whether functional brain activation during exposure to alcohol-associated stimuli is related to the prospective relapse risk in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients.Methods46 alcohol-dependent and 46 healthy volunteers participated in a fMRI study using a cue reactivity paradigm, in which visual alcohol-related and control stimuli were presented. Patients were followed for 3 months. Afterwards data was analysed regarding the subsequent relapse, resulting in 16 abstainers and 30 relapsers.ResultsAlcohol-related versus neutral stimuli activated a frontocortical-limbic network including inferior, medial and middle frontal gyrus as well as putamen in the group of patients relative to healthy controls. Moreover, abstainers showed a stronger activation in orbitofrontal cortex as well as midbrain during the presentation of alcohol-related cues whereas relapsers revealed a stronger activation of cingulate gyrus.ConclusionsThis study suggests that cue-induced activation of orbitofrontal cortex and dopaminergic innervated midbrain is negatively associated with the prospective relapse risk in alcohol-dependent patients. This could indicate a more pronounced and conscious processing of alcohol cues which might serve as a warning signal and a behavioural controlling function. In contrast, prospective relapsers showed a stronger activation of cingulate gyrus, a region involved in the attribution of motivational value.

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Plasma calcium concentration during detoxification predicts neural cue-reactivity and craving during early abstinence in alcohol-dependent patients

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience ◽

10.1007/s00406-021-01240-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Patrick Bach ◽

Rilana Schuster ◽

Anne Koopmann ◽

Sabine Vollstaedt-Klein ◽

Rainer Spanagel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Calcium Concentration ◽

Cue Reactivity ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Plasma Calcium ◽

Brain Areas ◽

Alcohol Craving ◽

Frontal Brain ◽

Plasma Calcium Concentration ◽

Alcohol Dependent

AbstractRecent studies on the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence suggest a link between peripheral calcium concentrations and alcohol craving. Here, we investigated the association between plasma calcium concentration, cue-induced brain activation, and alcohol craving. Plasma calcium concentrations were measured at the onset of inpatient detoxification in a sample of N = 115 alcohol-dependent patients. Alcohol cue-reactivity was assessed during early abstinence (mean 11.1 days) using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) alcohol cue-reactivity task. Multiple regression analyses and bivariate correlations between plasma calcium concentrations, clinical craving measures and neural alcohol cue-reactivity (CR) were tested. Results show a significant negative correlation between plasma calcium concentrations and compulsive alcohol craving. Higher calcium levels predicted higher alcohol cue-induced brain response in a cluster of frontal brain areas, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the anterior prefrontal cortex (alPFC), and the inferior (IFG) and middle frontal gyri (MFG). In addition, functional brain activation in those areas correlated negatively with craving for alcohol during fMRI. Higher peripheral calcium concentrations during withdrawal predicted increased alcohol cue-induced brain activation in frontal brain areas, which are associated with craving inhibition and cognitive control functions. This might indicate that higher plasma calcium concentrations at onset of detoxification could modulate craving inhibition during early abstinence.Trial registration number: DRKS00003388; date of registration: 14.12.2011.

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Verlangen nach Alkohol, Depressivität und Ängstlichkeit während stationärer Entzugsbehandlung:

Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1026/0084-5345.32.4.303 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 303-306 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ralf Demmel ◽

Martina Schröder

Keyword(s):

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Alcohol Craving ◽

Deutschsprachige Version

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Alkoholabhängige Patienten berichten häufig von einem starken Verlangen nach Alkohol (alcohol craving). Die Ergebnisse experimenteller Untersuchungen lassen vermuten, dass Ängstlichkeit und Depressivität mit stärkerem Craving einhergehen. Darüber hinaus kann vorausgesetzt werden, dass Intensität und Häufigkeit des Verlangens nach Alkohol im Verlauf einer stationären Behandlung deutlich abnehmen. Fragestellung: Lässt sich die Konstruktvalidität einer deutschsprachigen Version der Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) empirisch belegen? Methode: Am ersten, siebten und 14. Tag nach Beginn einer stationäreren Behandlung wurde alkoholabhängigen Patienten (N = 41) jeweils eine deutschsprachige Version der OCDS sowie der Symptom-Checkliste von Derogatis vorgelegt. Ergebnisse: Das von den Patienten berichtete Verlangen nach Alkohol nahm im Verlauf der stationären Behandlung deutlich ab, Ängstlichkeit und Depressivität gingen jedoch nicht mit stärkerem Verlangen einher. Schlussfolgerungen: Möglicherweise bildet eine wöchentliche Erfassung die starken Schwankungen des Verlangens während des akuten Entzugs nicht adäquat ab.

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